February 2019 Newsletter
2nd Annual Distinguished Lean Practitioner Winner!
The Distinguished Lean Practitioner award annually recognizes an employee for their significant contributions in supporting continuous improvement efforts in Des Moines Public Schools. Rob Stewart is Crafts Specialist in Facility Management and the 2nd annual Distinguished Lean Practitioner! He has implemented the facility warehouse improvement plan and made tremendous changes at Dean Avenue. Changes to the layout and organization of the warehouse have allowed for better space utilization for the work completed by the Facilities team. This has led to decreased time for job preparation, quicker response time and more completed work orders. In addition, he has developed an inventory area to keep commonly used items with long lead times in stock. For example, instead of waiting 4-8 weeks for a heat pump to be received, it is kept in stock to be sent directly out to the building in need to be installed. A necessity this winter and, again, allowing Facilities to be more responsive to schools. Congratulations Rob! Find out more here.
The Distinguished Lean Practitioner award annually recognizes an employee for their significant contributions in supporting continuous improvement efforts in Des Moines Public Schools. Rob Stewart is Crafts Specialist in Facility Management and the 2nd annual Distinguished Lean Practitioner! He has implemented the facility warehouse improvement plan and made tremendous changes at Dean Avenue. Changes to the layout and organization of the warehouse have allowed for better space utilization for the work completed by the Facilities team. This has led to decreased time for job preparation, quicker response time and more completed work orders. In addition, he has developed an inventory area to keep commonly used items with long lead times in stock. For example, instead of waiting 4-8 weeks for a heat pump to be received, it is kept in stock to be sent directly out to the building in need to be installed. A necessity this winter and, again, allowing Facilities to be more responsive to schools. Congratulations Rob! Find out more here.
Our February Status Quo Breaker is...
Debbie Swigert, Library and Learning Platform Specialist, is being recognized as our February Status Quo Breaker! Debbie attended Introduction to Continuous Improvement training in January and wasted no time prioritizing which process improvements she needed to do first. Within the next couple months, she will be working with teams to find opportunities for change in the textbook inventory process and in the library material and textbook fees process. We look forward to seeing what else Debbie does, great work!
The Status Quo Breaker is a monthly traveling trophy recognition of an employee for their contribution to process improvement, to say thank you for being Lean and/or for helping make DMPS Leaner. Do you have someone you want to nominate for the Status Quo Breaker? Contact Emma Knapp.
Debbie Swigert, Library and Learning Platform Specialist, is being recognized as our February Status Quo Breaker! Debbie attended Introduction to Continuous Improvement training in January and wasted no time prioritizing which process improvements she needed to do first. Within the next couple months, she will be working with teams to find opportunities for change in the textbook inventory process and in the library material and textbook fees process. We look forward to seeing what else Debbie does, great work!
The Status Quo Breaker is a monthly traveling trophy recognition of an employee for their contribution to process improvement, to say thank you for being Lean and/or for helping make DMPS Leaner. Do you have someone you want to nominate for the Status Quo Breaker? Contact Emma Knapp.
Gifted and Talented 5S
5S is an organizational continuous improvement tool to help individuals or teams gain control of their work spaces. The Gifted and Talented department spent a day on the Garden level at 2323 Grand de-cluttering and establishing a system for resources. The result? Quick access to materials for coordinators and, ultimately, classrooms. A special thank you to Jolene Teske, Jill Alessio, Kate Mead, Jenny Schiltz, Karen Sissel, Johanna Mackenzie, Tammy Kline and Carolyn Taylor for donating time to the effort!
5S is an organizational continuous improvement tool to help individuals or teams gain control of their work spaces. The Gifted and Talented department spent a day on the Garden level at 2323 Grand de-cluttering and establishing a system for resources. The result? Quick access to materials for coordinators and, ultimately, classrooms. A special thank you to Jolene Teske, Jill Alessio, Kate Mead, Jenny Schiltz, Karen Sissel, Johanna Mackenzie, Tammy Kline and Carolyn Taylor for donating time to the effort!
Shout Outs!
Thank you Carla Miller, Elizabeth Castillo, Jolene Teske, April Murray, Jeremy Schwennen, Nick Davidson, Kim Johnson, Chuong Vo and Debbie Swigert for participating in Introduction to Continuous Improvement training!
Congratulations to Connie Broich and Kaitlyn Evans for being nominated for the Distinguished Lean Practitioner award!
Congratulations to Connie Broich and Kaitlyn Evans for being nominated for the Distinguished Lean Practitioner award!
